Senseless vandalism irritating

December 4, 2013

We've said it before, and unfortunately we have to repeat it now:?We have no tolerance for vandalism and the miscreants responsible.

The latest incident involves damage done to McKinley Elementary in northeast Minot, where some windows and the front doors were found broken on Monday morning, the day students returned to class after a lengthy break for Thanksgiving. Bullet fragments were found inside the front doors and broken windows, and another bullet fragment was found in the school's gymnasium. The mess was quickly cleaned up, and broken doors and windows were covered with plywood in time to open school as scheduled.

Thankfully, such incidents involving schools are rare, but we are reminded that vandals also did thousands of dollars in damage to the new Erik?Ramstad Middle School in the building's final stages of construction. That damage, too, was quickly fixed and the incident did not delay the school's opening on Monday.

It's simply senseless and frustrating, but it also has to be taken seriously by school officials and law enforcement agencies. Those responsible deserve to be caught, convicted and punished to the fullest extent of the law possible, whether they're adults or minors.